Guo Wengui (also known as Miles Kwok), a Chinese billionaire in exile who claimed to have evidence of corruption at the top of the Chinese Communist Party, started offering the said evidence to the media around March this year. Guo was invited to join an exclusive interview on Voice of America on 19th April to give his explosive story. However, the live broadcast was abruptly terminated and the five journalists involved in this interview were immediately suspended from their roles.

Although Guo’s explosive testimony on the corruption in the upper echelons of the Chinese Communist Party has been covered by many international media, only a handful of traditional Hong Kong media covered Guo’s stories.

Guo originally planned to reveal a private conversation between him and Fu Zhenghua, Executive Deputy Minister of Public Security, during the live interview. However, since the interview was interrupted, he provided the recording to the Apple Daily newspaper in Hong Kong. In the recording, Fu hinted that President Xi Jingping wanted him to investigate Meng Jianzhu and Wang Qishan, especially their accounts in Switzerland and the capital flow of HNA Group.

China Infringes Hong Kong’s Autonomy

In the exclusive interview with Apple Daily, which focused on China’s interference in Hong Kong, Guo revealed information which pointed to China’s long-term breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the infringement of Hong Kong’s autonomy, the determining factor for the US-Hong Kong Policy and an essential element of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

Guo claimed that officers from China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) and Ministry of Public Security (MPS) have been “conducting official investigations” in Hong Kong for many years. If this is true, the Sino-British Joint Declaration has clearly been breached and the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s “mini-constitution”, has also been violated.

“People were arrested in Hong Kong and brought to (China) a few years ago, I know this all too well,” said Guo in the phone interview with Apple Daily. “I know many of the people in MSS, and they have abducted many before (from Hong Kong). The abduction of Xiao Jianhua (in January 2017) caused a public outcry, only because he is famous .” Guo continued, “the Causeway Bay booksellers case was not at all a surprise to me… it is a struggle for political power (within the CCP), (China) does not care about the rule of law in Hong Kong. Think about this: who would have executed the house search and confiscated Xiao’s computer at his home? Of course it was the police from China! Why haven’t the Hong Kong police done anything about it?”

The Big Brother is Watching You: Surveillance in Hong Kong

According to Guo, there are “safe houses” in Hong Kong, operated by Chinese MSS, to hold and interrogate their suspects. He claimed that the Hong Kong SAR Government knew about these activities all along but pretended they had no knowledge of them. MSS and MPS have been monitoring anti-China and pro-democracy individuals in Hong Kong, who they see as “destroying One-Country-Two-Systems”, in the past few years, as well as millions of mobile phones used in Hong Kong. “The Hong Kong SAR Government and the Hong Kong Police Force have been complicit in these activities.” Guo also claimed that MSS operates not only in the old Xinhua News Agency and China Liaison Office, but also conducts illegal investigations in a private club house in Causeway Bay, as well as in Taikoo Shing and Fo Tan. A subordinate of Ma Jian, former vice-minister of MSS, who was in charge of some of these operations was tortured to death soon after Ma was sentenced, according to Guo.

Ma Jian, who is under investigation for corruption and who allegedly has a close relationship with Guo, confessed in front of cameras that Guo bought him two apartments in Taikoo Place. Commenting on the two apartments, which were broken into during an investigation, Guo said, “who would have stormed into the apartments to investigate (a suspected corruption case in China)? Of course not the Hong Kong police, but those from China… I know that at least three hundred (MSS and MPS) officials are working in two Causeway Bay and Fo Tan buildings owned by China Resources. They often conduct investigations and search residential units (in Hong Kong).”

“Before I came to the US, I frequently met with these people from MSS and MPS, even agents of the PLA General Political Department’s intelligence unit… There are at least a few thousand of these people (in Hong Kong)! While Hongkongers marched on the street protesting against Chinese police and agents enforcing (China’s) law on Hong Kong soil (the peaceful march after the abduction of the booksellers), they have been conducting their official business (in Hong Kong) for a long time,” said Guo in the interview. “The Hong Kong police and government knew about this… this is the truly terrifying thing.” The Hong Kong Police Force declined to comment on Guo’s accusation.

China’s Master Plan

Hong Kong localists have been explaining to the local and international public that China’s policy toward Hong Kong is a glossed-over re-colonisation (some even go as far as describing it as a “bloodless genocide”), Guo’s comments on China’s overall policy towards Hong Kong seem to resemble what has been labelled as xenophobic, nationalistic or, worse, fascism-based “propaganda”. “(Chinese companies) buying land in Hong Kong (at inflated prices) is not about development, it is what we called ‘seepage’. First, immigration seepage: send lots of Chinese immigrants (to Hong Kong), eventually there will be a significantly lower proportion of genuine Hongkongers. Second, economic seepage: basically forcing Hong Kong developers out of the picture in Hong Kong (for example, HNA Group’s recent land purchases), monopolising the property market and controlling the movement of the property market will control the lifeline of Hong Kong – property is a political conspiracy. HNA Group (for example) will borrow money, enormous amounts of money, from banks in Hong Kong. This in turn allow them to hold the banks in Hong Kong by the throat, controlling the financial sector of Hong Kong. Then (Chinese) companies can do whatever they want, whenever they want (in Hong Kong)… they control the economy and politics in Hong Kong while making substantial profit… they become too big to fail.” According to Guo, banks in Hong Kong funded HNA Group 50% of the capital used to acquire the four plots of land in Hong Kong recently.

“Nobody can move billions of dollars to Hong Kong (from China to buy plots of land at hugely inflated prices) except Wang Qishan (Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection) and his family. They are the real bosses of HNA Group… In the near future, Hong Kong will face catastrophe economically and politically, and its international reputation will be on the line,” added Guo, though he declined to give more details about the relationship between Wang Qishan and HNA Group.

Besides exposing the “master plot”, Guo is also critical of Hong Kong tycoons and the general public. “Hong Kong tycoons used to be respected, but nowadays they kowtow to Beijing (Peking: ed)… They forgot that they are pawns being used by the CCP. Hongkongers talk about emigrating to other countries. Their home is being snatched! Instead of protecting their home they flee! Their mindset is totally troubled. It is not emigration, it is fleeing!”

Guo Wengui was suspected of having used his connections within the Chinese government to eradicate his enemies. Qu Long, Guo’s business partner at Beijing Zenith Holdings, was found guilty of possessing a firearm and was imprisoned soon after getting into a dispute with Guo.

Guo warned that he will make “substantial noise” about “Hong Kong affairs” when the timing is right.

Threat to Worldwide Freedom: China’s Power Over Western Media

Commenting on the abrupt termination of his live interview, Guo said that there are multiple individuals within Voice of America who have a close relationship with the CCP. Jing Zhang, an assistant at Voice of America who allegedly issued the order to terminate the live interview, is said to be controlled by Xinhua News Agency and to have very close ties with, and to be trusted by, China’s MSS.

China confirmed, right before the live interview was aired, that Interpol had issued a “red notice” seeking the arrest of Guo Wengui. The appointment of Meng Hongwei as the President of Interpol caused international concern, given China’s long-standing practice of trying to use Interpol to arrest dissidents and refugees abroad.